Chapter 12

Chapter 12

When the emergency call came in,

the dispatcher heard the caller say someone had thrown sulfuric acid at them.

Then there were screams.

The caller didn’t sound hurt.

"You said someone splashed you with sulfuric acid—Are you okay?" the dispatcher asked.

The screams on the line didn’t seem to be the caller’s—it was someone else.

Qi Mo.

"She tried to douse me. I had my baby in my arms, and I thought it was just water, so I snatched up a nearby sign to shield us. The stuff just ricocheted back at her. That's what happened. I don't even know them—they just came out of nowhere, shouting something I couldn’t make out," Qi Mo explained.

The dispatcher figured it was a counterattack.

Damn.

"We’ll be there in five minutes. By the way, did you call an ambulance?" the dispatcher asked.

Qi Mo was baffled. "They’re the ones who attacked me. Why should I call one?"

This guy’s something else.

"Someone probably already called, so I won’t. I’m afraid they might try again. I’m calling my husband. I need to stay safe," Qi Mo added.

Dispatcher (thinking): *I’m the cops. Should you really be saying that out loud?*

"Look, revenge isn’t the way. The law’ll handle them. We’re on our way. Don’t go vigilante, or you’ll land yourself in trouble too," the officer quickly advised.

Qi Mo replied, "I won’t commit any crime. But if someone crosses me, I’ll ruin their lives—legally."

Dispatcher (dryly): *Not illegal… if you can swing it.*

Qi Mo hung up.

Then he turned to the gawking crowd in the café.

"None of you are about to throw acid at me, yeah?"

The crowd, still shell-shocked, shook their heads.

Qi Mo let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I don’t even know those people. I have no idea why they’d do this. This is insane. My baby is only nine months old—he’s so adorable. Who does that to a baby? He couldn’t possibly have enemies. And I’m a homebody—I don’t have any enemies either. Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity?"

The "Eat Around the World" streamer was still live.

Fans watching the stream reacted to Qi Mo’s words:

"Bro, you must’ve pissed someone off without realizing it."

"This dude’s clueless."

"Did he blank on slapping Qi Huai last night?"

"He's got some serious guts."

"But how could an ordinary person even get close to Qi Huai?"

"True that. Qi Huai's fans said someone accused him of seducing their husband, and then laid into him."

"Our top sister yelled 'Qi Mo,' so what's his deal with Qi Huai?"

"Who knows? Someone explain?"

"Qi Huai doesn’t seem to have any brothers—he’s an only child."

"They're both Qis, so they’re probably related. Someone just posted a screenshot in the livestream—though the photo is blurry, that house is definitely not some regular place. That’s a full-on villa."

"Exactly, they’ve gotta be loaded. Did Qi Huai really go after someone else’s husband? Otherwise, why would he get beaten up?"

"There’s no smoke without fire."

"Wait, didn’t that guy say he was gonna get revenge and make them suffer? That’s some big talk. He must either have powerful friends or serious cash to be talking that loud."

"The thing is, he sounds totally unselfconscious about it—like he doesn’t even realize how arrogant he is."

"Holy shit, you’re right. It’s like he just casually drops, ‘I’m strong, I’ve got backing, don’t mess with me’ vibes."

...

Fans in the livestream were going wild with theories.

After scanning the restaurant and making sure no one was about to come splashing him, Qi Mo figured it was time to call and snitch.

This was the moment to rope his husband into this mess.

One call, two calls—no answer.

On the third try, someone finally picked up.

Huo Liangzhou had just landed from a flight and barely turned on his phone when it started vibrating—it was his young master calling.

Unless something serious happened that he couldn’t handle alone, the young master hardly ever called first.

Huo Liangzhou’s heart dropped. Was there trouble? Haicheng wasn’t like Jiangcheng; not many people knew who his young master was. He answered immediately.

Keeping watch by the door, Qi Mo kept an eye on both the teahouse interior and the street outside, paranoid someone might rush in and throw acid at him.

Getting his face melted off? Hell no.

He needed to protect himself—and his baby.

As for the screams coming from outside, the young master blocked them out entirely.

As an apocalypse survivor, he'd seen worse—killing for a mouthful of food, betrayal, cannibalism...

This shit? Barely registered. Once the danger passed, it wouldn't even make his heart skip a beat.

The only thing that threw him was how, in this timeline before the apocalypse, someone dared to challenge the law like this. He hadn’t seen balls that big before.

Even back when his parents were alive and loaded, he’d never stepped over the line.

Later, after marrying his placeholder husband, he could afford to be a bit more arrogant, but Qi Mo was just a hopeless homebody.

Painting and raising his baby were interesting enough, but his husband was a bit annoying, always hovering around and disturbing his peace, even trying to steal his baby's affection.

When the call connected, Qi Mo immediately complained, "Husband, husband, someone bullied me! They threw sulfuric acid at me, and I don't even know them. Come teach them a lesson—they're so mean, bullying me and the baby..."

"What? Sulfuric acid? Xiao Mo, are you okay? Is the baby alright? No injuries? Are you safe now? Did you call the police? I'll be right there, don't be scared, sweetheart." Huo Liangzhou asked with panicked concern, gripping his phone so hard it nearly cracked.

Hearing Huo Liangzhou’s frantic concern, Qi Mo explained, "Husband, I'm fine. It almost hit me, but I reacted fast. I protected the baby and myself."

Only after hearing Xiao Mo's words did Huo Liangzhou's racing heart slow slightly. "Good, that's good. I'll be there soon. No matter who bullied you and the baby, I'll make them regret being born."

Daring to touch his Xiao Mo and the baby? They must have a death wish.

After marrying Xiao Mo and having the baby, he'd been trying to reform his violent ways, becoming more restrained. But now, it seemed people thought Huo Liangzhou had lost his edge.

Murderous rage flashed in Huo Liangzhou's eyes. "Xiao Mo, tell me your exact location?"

"I'm at Four Seasons Tea Restaurant, next to the Four Seasons Seaview Hotel," Qi Mo shared his location with Huo Liangzhou.

Meanwhile, in the Taste the World livestream chat:

"Anyone else think Xiao Mo's bragging about protecting the baby?"

"No 'feels like' about it—he's totally showing off for his husband."

"I also think he's unconsciously showing off for his husband."

"Is bragging weird? If I protected myself in that situation, I'd want to brag too. Did you see those ninja reflexes? When that sulfuric acid came flying, he snatched up that sign and—bam!—it ricocheted."

"Ricochet!"

"Bounced back!"

"+1"

"+1"

"That rebound was insane! Even Xiao Mo looked shocked when those people started screaming. Turns out it was sulfuric acid!"

"My jaw dropped too! I thought it was just water!"

"Yo, who remembers whose ad board was placed at the entrance?"

"Whose? I didn't notice when the host entered."

"Me neither."

"I think Four Seasons Group has some partnership with that certain someone..."

"No way."

"Damn, I know who it is now!"

"Oh my god, this is gold!"

"Peak drama."

"The real question is—were those fans throwing sulfuric acid at Xiao Mo acting alone, or were they put up to it?"

"It's better not to make careless talk."

"Our brother is gentle and generous—he adores his fans the most, and would never incite them to throw sulfuric acid."

"That’s hard to say. Every idol I’ve denied has ended in scandal. I’ve quit idol-following altogether—I just hang out in livestreams now."

"If he did incite them, would that kind of man even make Qi Huai risk this much?"

"Surely not. Three-legged toads are rare (Chinese idiom implying rarity), but two-legged men are everywhere. Is it really worth doing something like this?"

"Didn’t the young man call his husband? His husband’ll be here soon, and then we’ll know what kind of man could make Qi Huai go this far."

"Nothing’s confirmed yet. Better hold off on speculating."

...

The Globetrotter Gourmet livestream was buzzing with excitement as countless onlookers flooded in.

The host was thrilled by the breaking scandal—it seemed like he was about to feast on this drama until he burst.

Finally, the police arrived.

A woman lay unconscious on the ground, another was wailing in pain, and two others had already run off without a trace...

One officer called for an ambulance while another splashed bottled water onto the face of the screaming woman.

A policeman looked at the person still holding the door handle inside the teahouse, still on the phone. "Who called the police?"

Qi Mo finally opened the glass door. "I did."

"Didn’t you call an ambulance?" the officer asked.

Qi Mo flinched slightly. "I thought someone else did. Maybe it’s too far away—the ambulance hasn’t come yet. I didn’t dare open the door. If it happened again, I might not get lucky next time. My husband said I should prioritize my safety, especially since I have the little one with me."

He glanced around the restaurant, then at the crowd keeping their distance.

Yes, there were plenty of onlookers nearby, but no one dared approach. The ambulance still hadn’t arrived.

At the same time, Qi Mo reached down to touch the baby in his arms, who was sucking on a pacifier.

Only then did the officer notice the child nestled against him—big round eyes staring curiously up.

"We’ll need you to come to the station for a statement," the officer said.

No one could fault him for not calling an ambulance—victims aren’t required to.

Besides, the danger might not be over. Staying alert and protecting himself was more important than anything.

Just then, a group of people approached, exuding an intimidating aura.

"It’s almost his bedtime—we can ask our questions here." Huo Liangzhou strode to his husband’s side and cut in.

"You can’t just—" the officer began.

Before he could finish, Qi Mo darted over. "Husband!"

Huo Liangzhou swept him into a hug.

The baby, squeezed between them, babbled excitedly—it had been so long since he’d seen his dad.

He rubbed the head of the young man in his arms and said, "What happened? Tell hubby what went down. You all listen."

Qi Mo immediately recounted everything to his stand-in husband.

"There's surveillance footage—just check it and you'll see. I don't even know these people, never met them before. I have no idea why they tried to throw sulfuric acid at me," Qi Mo explained.

By now, the fans in the "Eat Around the World" livestream were losing their minds.

"OMG, OMG! Who is this god-tier hottie?! So hot, so hot!"

"He’s legit model material! Which celebrity is he? I’m stanning already!"

"Seriously, he could debut right now!"

"Ughhh, this guy’s hubby is so hot, no wonder thirsty people are trying to get with him. Qi Huai is just too shameless!"

"Wait, have I seen him somewhere? He looks kinda familiar..."

"The financial channel once reported on him. He's, he's, he's—"

"Spit it out already! The suspense is killing me!"

"Give us a name already!"

"HE'S JIANGCHENG'S RICHEST MAN, HUO LIANGZHOU! NO WAY!"

"HOLY SH*T! The chairman of the nationally top 100 Huo Clan Consortium, Huo Liangzhou?! He’s TAKEN?!"

"WTF, W-T-F! And he even has a kid! I heard the kiddo babbling 'dada, dada'—that baby was calling for Daddy!"

"BRUH. BRUH. No wonder this little brother said Qi Huai was coming onto him!"

"I remember Qi Huai always clout-chased off him using ambiguous scenarios, but Huo Liangzhou never acknowledged him."

"More than that—he’s never even appeared clearly in any of Qi Huai’s photos. Always those blurry, 'accidental' pics."

"So now we know—President Huo’s been married for ages, and his kid can already crawl!"

"Qi Huai still tried to hit on him, but President Huo just left him on read. Otherwise, why were those photos of Qi Huai getting beaten up only shared in private groups and never allowed to go viral? Because President Huo shut it all down."

"God, this CEO daddy silently protecting his little husband and baby is so sweet."

"It hasn’t even been a few minutes since the incident, and he’s already here. This guy’s a ride-or-die hubby."

"So, was this sulfuric acid attack her own doing, or did Su Huai put her up to it?"

The livestream completely blew up...

Wu Di, the Special Assistant following Huo Liangzhou, glanced at the woman who had been helped up by the police. Her face was half melted off, but you could kinda tell who she was.

"President Huo, she's Qi Huai's top sister," Wu Di said.

"How tf did he ID her?! Her face is destroyed!"

"Next-level skills. Even like that, he recognized her instantly!"

"Must be an assistant or Special Assistant. Those people always got game."

"If he weren’t good, he wouldn’t have made it this far."

...

The conversation was in full swing.

Huo Liangzhou cut in, "It was Qi Huai's doing."

That settled it.

"Him," Wu Di agreed with a nod.

"Look into it," Huo Liangzhou ordered. "If someone dared to mess with the young master, throw them in jail."

Wu Di gave a nod.

His eyes scanned the teahouse crowd watching curiously, then Wu Di made a beeline for the corner by the door.

The fans...

The streamer...

"He's heading this way!"

"He's seen us!"

"No surprise—top-tier talent from a top 100 company!"

"Streamer, get out of here!"